This invention relates to a blanket assembly for use as a replaceable cover for the cylindrical anvil of a rotary die cutter or the like to support the sheet or web material being cut by the die or dies carried by the complementary rotary die cylinder, as shown, for example, in our U.S. Pat. No. 4,716,802. The invention has particular relation to a new and improved latch mechanism for securing a die cutter blanket of urethane or other elastically deformable material to the anvil roll of a rotary die cutter.
Typical prior art approaches to this problem are shown in Kirkpatrick et al U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,765,329 and 3,885,486, and in the prior commercial practice of the assignee of this invention, as discussed hereinafter in connection with the drawings. Each of these prior art latch mechanisms has practical disadvantages of complexity of construction and assembly, expense of production, and difficulty in use, as discussed in more detail hereinafter. The latch assembly of the present invention was accordingly developed to eliminate or overcome these disadvantages of prior art practice.